I'll Love You Until it's Time to Go
by Kiba Sniper
Summary: Fiona confronts Rouge and faces a hard truth about her relationship with Nic. Fiona/Nic.


Femslash February 2020 Day 10: Competition.  
this fic is set during sonic's year in space, so fiona isn't a freedom fighter yet and is working with/dating nic.

I'll Love You Until it's Time to Go

Fiona's breath hitched in her throat. She drew back as if punched her in the gut. She didn't want to believe her eyes, but the truth was as clear as a day.

Before her was none other than Rouge the Bat with her hand centimeters from snatching the esteemed Rainbow Gem. The glass box containing it had already been shattered, the fragments scattered on the tiled floor. Security guards were unconscious and splayed out like broken mannequins, some of them having been hit so hard by Rouge's famous kicks that they left indents in the walls after they slumped down to their crumpled forms. In the dim lighting, she made out drool seeping down busted lips and eyes rolling in unconscious heads, and for a split second, Fiona saw herself in the same position as the poor men who fell victim to Rouge's attacks.

"Fiona," Rouge purred, gripping the Rainbow Gem, "long time no see. What's it been, four months since your disastrous Station Square bank heist?"

"How? How did you-?" Fiona growled and cleared her throat. She balled her hands back into fists. "Well, I guess this makes sense. It was too easy getting in here. There wasn't even anyone at the front door."

"A little kick to the head fixed that problem," she said, dragging her finger along the gem's smooth cut.

She furrowed her brows and narrowed her glare. If she had been a little faster, then Rouge would have been distracted by the guards. Then, she would have been able to steal the Rainbow Gem and escape to Nic's motorcycle outside, leaving Rouge flabbergasted that someone beat her to it. She would have relished in seeing the gape on the bat's face when she realized she had been duped, but that wasn't in the cards for her.

Fiona fidgeted with the hem of her black tube top. Her fingers itched to grab Nic's blaster secured in her belt, but she knew Rouge was faster than a laser. The smug look gracing Rouge's features strengthened her temptation to shoot her clean between the eyes and how she tossed the gem up and down made her heart beat a little faster.

"While I've enjoyed our talk, I'm needed elsewhere. The sooner I get this to G.U.N, the faster I get to go on other heists," Rouge said, wiggling her fingers goodbye.

"Wait!" Fiona threw out her hand as Rouge's wings flapped and lifted her towards the hole in the ceiling. At the curious quirk in Rouge's brow, she asked, "You, Rouge the Bat, joined the Guardian Units of Nations?"

"As a side gig, I assure you. They're covering me for taking this back to me since it was illegally obtained by this jewelry store." Rouge flicked her wrist. "Something about it being procured from Soleanna without approval." She sighed and tilted her head, Fiona's annoyance palpable as she continued, "You know, protection is nice. Having something to fall back on really gives me that extra boost that I need. The Kingdom of Acorn can't exactly haul me in when the President of the Overlanders is on my side." She smirked, her fang slipping over her lower lip. "I can't say if you'd enjoy it, hun. It's not really in your class."

"Like I'd sell out to G.U.N.! What do you think I am, desperate?" She scoffed. "I have more self respect than to bow down to some whack job military group. I mean, they tried taking Sonic in over a case of mistaken identity." The twitch in Rouge's jaw her lips quirk higher. "Are you really so sure you can keep pulling off jobs like this without them turning on you? Trust me-" She tapped her chest. "-I know betrayal, Rouge. One mistake and you're out of their good graces."

Rouge hummed. The sound droned on as Fiona swaggered towards her. Resting her hand on Nic's blaster, she watched Rouge's eyes flick up and down observing her every movement. Her words carried venom, and she knew Rouge was smart enough to not get infected, but the threat was still present. A little more pushing and she would have Rouge wrapped around her finger, her mind clouded with doubt and insecurity just like she had on her worst days.

Drumming the blaster's hilt, she said, "G.U.N. really let you rob a jewelry store for the Rainbow Gem. You don't think they'll turn their back on you the second you do something they don't like?"

"Oh, Fi, I'm more than ready to deal with the fallout. You don't think I have gigs waiting on the back-burner?" She clicked her tongue and tightened her grip around the gem. "Don't think I'm that naive."

Fiona glanced at the hole in the ceiling and cocked her head. "Well, I think you are."

Her lip curled. "Why is tha-agh!"

Fiona couldn't help but cackle as the purple tail slammed down from the hole and crashed onto Rouge's head. Nic's entrance was as grand as it was foolish. Plummeting in like a sack of potatoes, her legs and back perfectly straight, and having her tail smack the center of Rouge's head made Fiona erupt in a fit of giggles. The strangled yelp fleeing Rouge's throat fueled her amusement, her laughter echoing in the still vault as Rouge's chin collided with the floor, her fangs cutting into her lips and making blood bubble in the small puncture wounds.

Nic snatched the gem as it flew up from Rouge's hand. She cupped it to her chest, and her tail sprung her off the ground. She hopped over Rouge, smirking a toothy grin at her while she rubbed her aching head. She flipped the gem in the air like it was a quarter and caught it, Fiona hurrying to the entrance without looking back.

"Way to make Bat Girl doubt herself, babe," Nic said, rushing after Fiona.

"It's not that easy getting in her head, and we're not out of the woods yet," she replied, pulling the blaster out of her belt. She spun it once and jerked around, shouting for Nic to duck.

Nic swiped off her hat and pressed it to her side. She hunched forward and tucked her chin to her chest, the fiery blue laser shooting inches over her head. The air around her heated up, and she felt her fur singe from the close proximity of the blast, but she focused on her boots stomping on the ground as she kept pace with Fiona.

Fiona cursed under her breath as Rouge rolled to the side in the air. Her wings propelled her over Nic's head, her attention squarely on the fox. Gritting on her molars, Fiona counted only ten steps to the entrance where she knew Nic had parked her motorcycle outside, but she knew Rouge wasn't going to let her escape so easily. She fired blast after blast, Rouge twisting and turning in midair, the shots careening into displays and sending glass everywhere. Fiona spun and wove her way through her onslaught of kicks, the bat mixing her powerful blows with her words.

"So, you wanna talk to me about loyalty, huh? You think you have any right to say that to me after abandoning Bean and Bark at that last underground tournament a year ago? I heard they got shredded the second you left them behind," Rouge sneered, Fiona beginning to see red. She smashed her heel towards the side of Fiona's head and pinned her to the wall. As Fiona glanced at her sweaty reflection in the shiny material of her boot, she lowered her voice and jeered, "We both know you're going to leave Nic the second you find a better gig. What's next, are you going to join the Freedom Fighters and put on a good girl act like me?"

Her words cut to the bone. Fiona seethed and steadied her finger on the trigger. She aimed Nic's blaster at Rouge's muzzle, the tip of it faintly caressing her jaw. Despite her mind screaming at her to pull it, her finger remained stiff and refused to move, petrified.

"Oi, Fiona, what're you doing?" Nic shouted by the entrance, panic laced among her words. She frantically twisted her neck between the combatants and her bike, the sound of police sirens echoing in the distance. Flashes of blue and red from incoming squad cars brightened the fear discoloring her features, the sight making Fiona's heart squeeze.

Rouge's ears flicked. With a careless shrug of her shoulders, she flew back. "I'll cut my losses. I'd rather not deal with the Commander breathing down my neck for involving the local police. You two can take the fall for me." She blew them a kiss and winked. "See you next time, ladies. It'll be a date."

"Let's go!" Fiona barked before Nic could say anything. She marched passed Nic to the weasel's motorcycle, the first police van speeding down the street towards them. She hopped into the sidecar and steadied her blaster, Nic leaping over her onto the motorcycle. As Nic revved the engine, she tightened her grip around the steel hilt of the blaster, the metal surprisingly warm, and she jerked back as Nic took off, the wheels shrieking on the asphalt dragging her attention back to Nic.

"Hold it tight, love. I'll get them off our tails," Nic said, shoving the Rainbow Gem in Fiona's open hand.

Nodding, Fiona wondered how long she would last with Nic. She hoped it would be a few more months before her heart told her otherwise. Closing her eyes, she felt the sharp breeze in her hair and fur and wished it would blow away her worries.

She knew Nic deserved better than her, but it wasn't time. It would have been too soon, maybe within the next six months. Just like with all the others she abandoned, she didn't want to see the look on her face when she finally packed up and stormed out of her life because she knew it would be the same abject shock she bore when left to rot in Robotnik's grimy, desolate prison cell.

She felt Nic's gaze on her and stared at the Rainbow Gem. Her reflection was numb, a cold caricature of her former self. Peering up at Nic, she forced herself to return her smirk, and they both knew the effort was futile, their partnership doomed for failure as the blood pounded in their heads and the sirens roared in the whipping winds.

"Do you think the Freedom Fighters have any openings?" she asked, and Nic chuckled.

"I hear they're always taking newcomers, but don't go bowing out on me while in the middle of a chase," she said, and Fiona nodded, her eyes of steel glaring at the cop in the mirror, and she wished she could have disappeared.


End file.
